This image is the cover for the book Glossop in the Great War, Your Towns & Cities in the Great War

Glossop in the Great War, Your Towns & Cities in the Great War

A new book on Glossop during World War I focuses on the economic and social conditions, problems and hardships of those left at home in England played out against a background of military action on the Western Front, in Turkey, Egypt and Palestine. It chronicles the difficulties, hardships and restrictions of daily life for civilians; the morale of the town year by year as the War dragged on; the growing lists of casualties and the stoical determination of the townsfolk to contribute as much as they could towards the defeat of the Kaiser. Part mill town, part farming community, Glossop's real strength turned out to be its rural parochialism. When the call came to 'dig for victory' the townsfolk did so with enthusiasm and the women proved themselves just as capable as the men. 1914 and 1915 saw some optimism but this changed after the Battle of the Somme in 1916, which destroyed the glorification of war. 1917 was a bad depressive year but despair finally mellowed in 1918. 1919 saw the impact of the influenza epidemic, the erection of War memorials, and, to Glossop's horror, the award of a tank in recognition of the town's War efforts.

Glynis Cooper

Glynis Coopers family has its roots in the industrial millscapes of Manchester. She was born in Stockport, but she grew up near Bury St Edmunds and subsequently spent ten years living and working in Cambridge before returning to Manchester. Her parents were writers who inspired her enthusiasm for the written word. Glynis, who loves islands and the open countryside, trained in the dual disciplines of librarianship and archaeology. She enjoys reading, researching and writing local histories, travelling and playing chess.

Pen and Sword